Blood Reunion Read online

  "Toff, honey, are you all right?" The Queen went straight to him.

  Toff wanted to shrink away from her. "How—how do you know my name?" he muttered, still gripping his throat. Tory and Ry were beside their mother in two blinks, doing their best to check on Toff.

  "Honey, I've known your name since you were tiny," Lissa murmured, holding a hand out to Toff. Toff was too afraid of her to take it.

  "Mom won't hurt you," Tory tried to reassure Toff. Toff blinked at Tory and Ry before extending a shaking hand to the Queen. Her hand gripped his and he was pulled against her in a tight hug. She may have kissed him on the cheek, too, but Toff was too dazed to know for sure.

  "Honey, I can't believe that Redbird and Corent haven't been camped out on my doorstep, wondering where you were," Lissa held Toff away from her and brushed hair back from his forehead. "And I have to say, I don't think I'm willing to let you go back unless you just can't stand to be parted from them."

  "What?" Toff didn't understand any of this. "Where's Nissa?" He turned to Tory and Ry, who both hung their heads. They were just about to get in trouble with their mother.

  "Nissa's missing, honey. Has been for several days, now. How do you know about her?" The Queen held Toff's face in her hands. Toff was surprised—the Queen's hands were gentle as she held him.

  "Redbird always said you'd drink my blood," Toff blurted without thinking. That caused the Queen to go still.

  "Did she?" Toff didn't realize how angry the Queen had become in less than a blink. "Well, let's go have a talk with your foster-mother."

  Toff didn't know what happened. One moment he was outside Narissa's cottage, the next he was standing at the door to his home inside the Green Fae village. One of the tall men with a long black braid down his back was knocking on the door. Redbird answered with Corent right behind her.

  "Would you care to tell my why Toff has been missing for six days now and you failed to report it?" The Queen was asking as nicely as she could under the circumstances. Ry and Tory stepped up to flank Toff, each holding onto an arm. Toff was glad they were there—he felt safer, somehow.

  "But Toff has not been missing," Redbird insisted. "He has been here all along, hasn't he, Corent?" Redbird turned to look at her mate.

  "Toff has been inside Narissa's boundary for the last six days; we just went to get him when we found out Narissa was threatening him," the Queen insisted, sounding quite angry.

  "He has been here the entire time," Redbird said, "and now you show up with some trumped up lie, when Toff is supposed to be out gathering clay for Mother Fern."

  "You say he's been here all along, and is out working right now?" The Queen's eyes narrowed at Redbird.

  "But you have him right there," Redbird pointed at Toff.

  "This Toff has been inside Narissa's boundary, trust me on this," Lissa stated. "Now, would you like to go with me and find the Toff you've been harboring, or will you stay here and cower while I go do it?"

  "We'll come," Corent stepped around Redbird and out the door. Toff was transported again just as before, but the scene that greeted them at the old streambed had Corent shouting, Redbird screaming and Drake and Drew running.

  * * *

  Nissa wanted to grumble as she shoveled clay and then used her power to remove roots and bits of rock before dumping it in the canvas bag. More than once the sides of the canvas bag had collapsed inward, causing the clay to slide down the outside instead of dropping inside the bag as it should. Nissa was so busy concentrating on her work that she failed to notice the sounds of leaves rustling. She didn't miss Gren's taunt, however.

  "Look, it's the baby worm, digging through the dirt. Going to eat that dirt like the other worms, baby eunuch?" Gren laughed at her.

  "At least you're smart enough to know what worms eat," Nissa snapped, shoving the edge of her shovel into the dirt and watching Gren warily. "Where are your spies, Gren? You normally don't go anywhere without them."

  "Why are you worried about my friends?" Gren still had a smile on his face.

  "Because you're just the distraction," Nissa said. She was doing her best to go Looking for anyone else in the area, even as she kept a close eye on Gren.

  "Now!" Gren shouted and Nissa's head felt as if it were about to explode as her protection jewel activated, blowing her and Gren away from one another.

  * * *

  Lissa's Journal

  "My daughter is in your household for six days, and you don't even notice?" I paced in front of Corent and Redbird. Tiearan and Rain had come, too, but Tiearan knew better than to say anything at this point.

  "The disguise was very good," Redbird muttered, hanging her head and refusing to meet my eyes.

  "But surely you must have noticed some differences," I insisted. I certainly would have, even if I didn't have the scents. I would have known my daughter and my sons anywhere. I was waiting to hear from Karzac—he'd come to check on Nissa, who was still unconscious. He was also treating Gren and two others, both of whom Toff identified as the three who'd had attacked him six days earlier.

  "And you also failed to notice that Toff was getting bullied and marked for death. As was my daughter. Those three boys will be held in my dungeons, I can guarantee that. I intend to find the reason for all this, I assure you. Toff is also coming with me. You've worn out your chances on this." Even my hair was crackling with energy, I was so angry.

  "But the mindbond," Redbird whined.

  "How about that?" I snapped. "Do you know what he said to me when we found him? Do you? He said that you told him I'd drink his blood. You've been filling his head with lies. What else have you been telling him, Redbird?" Redbird was lucky I settled for merely saying her name with contempt. I wanted to do so many other things, and most of them involved a great deal of pain. For her.

  "Is that what you've been telling him?" Corent was now looking at his mate in alarm.

  "I wanted to keep him with me," Redbird was back to whining again.

  "You'd have done better to protect him from those bullies," I shouted. Yes, I wasn't behaving in the most rational way possible, but then I'd never been faced with this much idiocy while I was pregnant.

  "Avilepha, you cannot reason with her—there is not much there to reason with," Kifirin appeared in a burst of light. "Come home with me now. We will take care of your two young ones and watch the others in the dungeons. Had their parents been more vigilant, this might have been avoided."

  "But you cannot just take them," Tiearan was now standing and disagreeing with Kifirin.

  "We will take them. You depended too heavily on that boundary you placed around your village, Tiearan, and failed to notice the blight within. Now you will pay the price. We will advise you on the final disposition of those three miscreants." Kifirin blew a curl of smoke from his nostrils and Tiearan backed away.

  * * *

  "Toff, we have enough space in our suite if you'd like to stay there," Ry offered. Toff blinked at Ry and Tory, shocked by what was offered. He now realized that they were both Princes—sons of the Queen. As Nissa was the Queen's daughter and a Princess. Nissa was being treated inside her suite and the Queen, a healer and a tall, blue Larentii were in attendance. Ry and Tory had led Toff away, though he wanted to go to Nissa's bedside to see how she was.

  "We'll check on Sissy tomorrow—she got a blast to the head. Anyway, that's what Uncle Drake says. Uncle Drew said that those three were doing a chant normally used to crack nuts open. He says that if Sissy hadn't had her protection jewel, she'd have died." Tory shivered as he made his statement. Both boys were leading Toff down endless corridors toward their suite of rooms. "Are you hungry?" Tory stopped in his tracks. "I am. We didn't finish dinner earlier."

  "Let's go to the kitchens. Tory, can you skip us in?" Ry grinned. They had Sissy back, Karzac would make her well again and Toff wasn't being bullied anymore. Things were looking up at the moment.

  "What is skipping?" Toff managed to ask before he disappeared from one place and app
eared in another. The other place turned out to be the largest kitchen Toff had ever seen. It had things in it that he didn't recognize, too. Three people were inside the kitchen, cleaning up.

  "Young ones, I am not surprised to see you, since you failed to finish your dinner earlier," one of the three came forward to eye Tory, Ry and Toff. "And who is this? He looks quite familiar to me."

  "This is Cheedas, who runs the palace kitchens," Tory nudged Toff. Toff was gaping at Cheedas, who looked familiar to him, too. Cheedas had silver in his hair, an indication to Toff that he might be old.

  "Would you like something to eat?" Cheedas reached out and ruffled Toff's hair. Toff was surprised by the gentle gesture.

  "I am hungry," Toff nodded.

  "Then you'll eat. Sit. All of you," Cheedas commanded, and Toff sat while Cheedas and the other two found food for him and the Princes.

  "What is this?" Toff had never had anything he liked so well. It was a tender steak that had been breaded and fried. The main course was served with mashed potatoes, gravy and tiny peas. Toff hadn't realized how hungry he was.

  "Mom calls this chicken-fried steak and we make fun of her because it isn't chicken at all," Tory grinned, cutting into his steak and placing a bite in his mouth.

  "I like this very much," Toff was busy eating.

  "How old are you, young one?" Cheedas leaned on the kitchen island across from the three boys. "My guess would be around eighteen."

  "Really?" Toff couldn't believe it. He would turn eighteen in less than three months. "Everybody else says I look twelve."

  "But your kind matures slowly," Cheedas replied. "Did they not tell you that? You will not reach full growth until age twenty-nine. Do not be discouraged—it is just what you are."

  "Redbird always said I was Vionnu—from Vionn." Toff swallowed his bite of food before speaking—it was polite. Tory snorted at Toff's statement. "Is that not true? I'm not from Vionn?" Toff glanced from Cheedas to Tory in confusion.

  "I know not the reason why she might say that to you," Cheedas straightened. "You are most certainly not Vionnu. How did this Redbird explain your lack of genitalia?"

  Toff stared openmouthed at Cheedas. The cook had just revealed Toff's most shameful secret. How had he known? How?

  "I see that it was not explained to you," Cheedas said. "It is not a deformity, young one. All your kind are born this way. You are what I am, young Toff. Comesula. That is singular. Comesuli is plural. We are native to Le-Ath Veronis and your foster parents should have told you of this long ago. From Vionn, they said." Cheedas walked away, shaking his head.

  "We knew the minute we saw you," Ry said. "Is that what they did—make you ashamed because you weren't like them? That's awful. This is how you're supposed to be."

  Toff was now staring at Ry. "Don't worry," Ry continued. "I think Mom will send someone in the next few days to explain things to you. You're a whole person, Toff. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

  "But what about girls and coupling and things like that?" Toff was almost afraid to voice those fears. He liked Nissa very much, but according to Gren and the others, he had nothing to offer her. That upset him.

  "As I said, Mom will send somebody to explain that to you. Don't worry. You have options." Tory patted Toff's shoulder. "Finish your food. Maybe we can sneak into the pool, too, before somebody finds out we're not in bed."

  * * *

  "This is all you use this for?" Toff was astounded that there was a pool of warm, clear water used only for swimming and nothing else. All three boys had jumped into the water without clothing, and Ry was busy trying to splash Tory. Toff was also shocked that neither of the others had said a word about what he lacked. Cheedas had told him it was natural—he was supposed to be this way. Why had the Fae and the Halves told him otherwise? Toff couldn't fathom a reason.

  They'd been in the water for perhaps an hour when someone walked in that Toff hadn't seen before.

  "Hi, Dad, we just wanted to have a swim," Ry grinned sheepishly at Erland Morphis.

  "That's Ry's father, Uncle Erland," Tory whispered to Toff, who nodded. He was afraid they were all about to be in trouble.

  "Time for bed, all of you," Erland had fists on his hips. They reluctantly climbed out of the pool and Tory headed for the pile of towels on a nearby table. He tossed towels to Ry and Toff, then dried himself with another and wrapped it around his waist afterward. Toff watched closely and followed Tory's example. Erland led the way and took all three of them toward Ry and Tory's suite.

  "We brought in another bed—there's room in between with an extra closet," Erland pointed Toff toward the largest bed he'd ever seen. "We'll see about getting clothing for you in the next day or so. Welcome to the palace, young Toff." Erland smiled at Toff and closed the door to Toff's new bedroom behind him when he left. Since Toff didn't have pajamas with him, he slid naked between smooth sheets for the first time in his memory.

  * * *

  "Nissa, baby, Daddy's not mad." Shadow had Nissa pulled into his lap as soon as she woke. "How's your head, sweetheart?" Shadow stroked Nissa's hair. Nissa wrapped arms around her father's neck and wept.

  "Baby bird, it's all right." Uncle Karzac was there in a moment, rubbing her back gently and using power to clear away any residual headache. Nissa pulled her head away from her father's shoulder and blinked tearfully at Karzac.

  "They tried to kill me, didn't they?"

  "Baby, don’t think about that now," Shadow attempted to calm his daughter. "You need to eat something, I think. You missed your dinner last night and breakfast this morning. Your mother is about to have one of her conniptions, I think."

  Nissa gave a trembling smile. Conniption wasn't a word used in any of the languages recognized by the Alliance. It was something that her mother used, however, and Uncle Tony said that it was a legitimate word. Somewhere. "Come on, young one. We'll have lunch with your mother and your brothers."

  "What happened to Toff?" Nissa looked into her father's gray eyes.

  "He's here, too. Your mother refused to leave him behind this time. Good thing, too—they were filling his head with all sorts of lies." Karzac huffed angrily over that fact.

  "They were calling him a eunuch. When they thought I was Toff, they called me that, too. And worm, baby face and a bunch of other ugly names," Nissa wiped a stray tear off her face.

  "Neither you nor Toff are any of those things," Karzac declared. "Come, I think Cheedas has made chicken and dumplings for you."

  "Really? They never make it at Grey House." Nissa was ready to eat.

  "Because they don't know how," Shadow let Nissa slide off his lap. He rose and draped an arm around his daughter's shoulders as they made their way out of Nissa's suite and down marble halls toward the dining room.

  * * *

  "Nissa?" Toff stood the moment she entered the room, accompanied by Karzac and another man.

  "Toff." Nissa went straight to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I was so worried about you." She even kissed his cheek before letting him go. Toff stared after her as she went to sit next to her mother at the head of the table. Toff was sitting between Ry and Tory only a little farther down. Ry tugged on Toff's borrowed tunic and Toff remembered to sit down again.

  "Uncle Roff," Tory nudged Toff and Toff turned swiftly in his seat, his breath catching in his throat for a moment as Roff walked into the dining hall. Tory's Uncle Roff had wings. They were held tightly against his back for the moment, but Toff could only imagine what they might look like if they were spread out.

  "Ask him to fly you around, sometime," Ry whispered as they watched Roff glance briefly in their direction before finding a chair next to Tony. Several servants came to serve the meal and Toff knew they were of the same race as he—he recognized it now, thanks to Cheedas. One of them winked slyly at Toff as he served a soup. Toff smiled at the servant before he hurried away.

  "Toff, we want you to take a day or two off to recover. We'll set you up with Morwin after that—
he'll tutor you in the mornings while Ry and Tory are practicing with Drake and Drew," Queen Lissa smiled at him. Toff felt a bit of shock—the Queen had been so kind to him. She'd hugged him last night, and may have kissed him, even. Now she was offering lessons. "Do you want to stay in the same bedroom you had last night, or do you want one to yourself?" The Queen asked.

  "I can stay with Tory and Ry?"

  "We want you to," Tory nodded. "If you want to, that is."

  "I want to." Toff stared at his hands for a moment. He wanted to ask why he was in the palace and why everybody was being so nice to him. He was nothing to them, yet they were treating him as if he were a member of the family. "I would like that very much, thank you," he remembered his manners, albeit a little late.

  "Good. We have someone coming in who will bring some clothing for you. You can pick out what you like," the Queen went on. "Is there anything you want brought from home? Corent has already offered to send whatever you need."

  Toff was embarrassed to ask for the small wooden box of bits and pieces he kept beneath his bed. "We'll just have him send everything, and you can pick and choose," the Queen told him. "Let's eat, I'm starved." Everybody started eating, then, and Ry and Tory quickly had Toff smiling as they teased one another, and then Nissa was getting onto her brothers and soon they were all laughing. For Toff, that hadn't happened in a very long time.

  * * *

  "Careful, she spits." Tory snickered at Ry's words after Tory sneaked Toff, Ry and Nissa into the dungeon to see the prisoners. They were coming up on Narissa's cell. She did try to spit at them, but her efforts fell short.

  Narissa called them unkind names as they stared at her. "Mom says she's not right," Nissa told Toff softly as they walked away from the cell. Next on the list was Clover's cell. Toff stared at his would be murderer and shook his head. Clover looked lost and dejected.

  "Gren's a pig," Toff whispered as they walked from Clover's cell to Laral's. Laral looked to be in much the same state as Clover. Gren, whose cell was next to Laral's, began shouting and forced Tory to skip them all away from the dungeons before the guards came running.